Inner container cap with pouring outlet



March 14, 1961 A. F. DRlscoLL INNER CONTAINER CAP WITH POUR ING OUTLET Filed Oct. 22, 1956 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS l' if United States Patent yO INNER CONTAINER CAP WITH POURING OUTLET Anthony F. Driscoll, 6528 78th St., Middle Village, N.Y., assgnor of one-half to Jean Masbacln'Stamford, Conn.

Filed Oct. 22, 1956, Ser. No. 617,298

3 Claims. (Cl. 21S-38) This invention relates to closures for the dispensing of liquids, powders, and tablets from bottles, metal, plastic, paper cans and drums.

It 'is an object of the invention to provide an improved closure for a bottle or other container with areas dened by score lines and that can be punched out to provide a discharge opening of substantially smaller extent than the full cross-section of the bottle mouth; and the areas to be punched out are shaped and located in accordance with the contents of the bottle and the manner in which it is to be used.

Liner facings across the inner surface may be adhesively applied to the caps so that when the scored areas are pushed down to form tabs at the pourout and vent openings, the liner facing tears along the score lines and remains securely attached to the tabs so that it is not loose and docs not hang down or drop into the container. Any of the commercial types of liner materials generally used in caps are suitable with this invention.

Another object of the invention is to provide an aux;

iliary closure for a bottle, and one which can be used with conventional bottle closures to improve the pourliquid can be dispensed accurately and without having the liquid run down the outside of the bottle neck.

The invention is constructed in such a way that it is inexpensive to make, and so that it can be applied to bottles by means of conventional machinery.

Other objects, features .and advantages of the invention will appear or be pointed out as the description proceeds. Y Y

In the drawing, forming a part hereof, in which like reference characters indicate corresponding parts in all the views,

Figure 1 is a sectional view showing the upper end of aV bottle with the closure of this invention secured to the bottle;

Figure 2 is an enlarged top view of the inner or auxiliary cap shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figures 4 and 5 are views similar to Figure 2 but showing modified forms of the invention; and

Figure 6 is a sectional View through a different kind of bottle from that shown in Figure 1 and with the invention modified to accommodate itself to the particular type of bottle shown in Figure 6.

Figure l shows a bottle 10 having a neck 11 and a mouth 12. There is a a conventional circumferential lip 14 around the outside of the mouth 12; and there are screw threads 16 on the neck 11 for receiving a conventional cap 18.

Ordinarily, the cap 18 has a liner 20 which is pulled down tightly against the top of an inner cap 22 when the cap 18 is screwed down on the neck. The inner cap 22 lits over the mouth 12 and has tabs 24 at spaced locations around the circumferential edge of the inner cap and snapped under the lip 14. This inner cap 22 2,974,815 Patented Mar. 14, 1961 ICC is thus permanently secured to the bottle. A liner 26 preferably extends across the mouth 12 and the top of the lip 14 for preventing the contents of the bottle from coming into contact with the bottom surface of the inner cap 22.A This liner 26 is firmly held against the bottle lip by pressure of the inner cap 22 after the tabs around the circumferential edge of the cap have been snapped under the bottle lip 14.

The inner cap 22 is placed on the bottle 10 by a capping machine that presses the cap downwardly with considerable force so that the diverging lower end portions of the tabs 24 are displaced radially outwardly by a cam action against the curved surface of the lip 14. This displacement is less than the elastic limit of the tabs; and when the minimum diameter portion of the cap passes over the maximum diameter of the lip, the elasi Ibut is preferably made of sheet metal so that it can be thin and t into the outer cap 18 without requiring an excessive clearance in the outer wp for the purpose of passing over the inner cap 22. In the preferred construction the lower portions of the tabs 24 are made harder than the upper portions which flex as the cap is applied to the bottle. If an attempt is made to remove the cap by bending up any of the tabs 24, however, their hardness is such that they will break off before transmitting suicient force to remove the cap. This result can be obtained by selective tempering when metal caps are used, and by' dilferences in thickness with plastic or other caps. The inner cap 22 is originally imperforate when a customer buys the bottle, and since the cap is permanently attached to the bottle, this is an assurance ing qualities of the bottle so that small quantities ofr that the bottle has not been opened and the contents changed or diluted. There is an area 30 (Figure 2) in the top of the bottle surrounded by a score line 32. This score line 32 is made substantially thinner than the rest of the bottle cap along the part of the score line indicated by a solid line. Pressure applied to the area 30, therefore, causes this portion of the inner cap Ito tear along the solid part of the score line 32Yand hinge downwardly along the portion of the score line indicated by dotted lines to form a tab 34 shown in dotted lines in Figure 3.

There is preferably another area 36 surrounded by a score line 38 and adapted to be displaced to form a tab 39. The opening left by the tab 34 is used as the pour opening when liquid is to be taken from the bottle, and

the opening left by the tab 39 provides a vent for admitting air into the bottle. The liner 26 is preferably secured to the bottom face of the inner cap over the areas under the score lines so that the liner tears along the score lines when the tabs 34 and 39 are displaced, as

l previously explained.

'smaller cross section than the area 30 of Figure 2; and

there is another area 44 which is displaced to provide the vent opening, in a cap 45.

In Figure 5 there are four areas 46 which can be displaced to provide one or more pour openings, as desired, and there is a center area 48 which can be displaced to provide a vent. cap shown in Figure 5 has a variety ofI uses and can be used, for example, on a hair tonic bottle or other bottle from which liquid is to be shaken in small quantities. When so used, the center area 48 can be displaced and all of the areas 46tleft in place, in a cap S0.

For talcum, foot or similar powders, the inner cap'can be made with multiple holes or perfor-ations which are punched through and not just scored.

Figure 6 shows the invention used with a bottle having a crown cap 52 in place of the screw-threaded cap shown in Figure 1. When so fused, the inner cap 22 may be identical in construction with that shown in the other gures; and the crown cap 52 has its scalloped edge 54= crimped under the circumferential edge 24 to hold the crown cap on the bottle. Since the circumferential edge 24 of the inner cap extends under the lip 14, the crown cap 52 can be crimped under the inner cap 22 in exactly the same manner as crown caps are conventionally crimped under the lip of a bottle, and the outer points of the crown cap are far enough out to be engaged by a bottle opener without interfering with the inner cap.

The inner cap 22 is made of material strong enough to hold its grip on the lip 14 when the crown cap 52 is removed with a bottle opener. There is little danger of removing the inner cap with the bottle opener because the circumferential portion of the inner cap follows the contour of the bottle lip and the -bottle opener will slide overl the curved surface of the inner cap in the same way that bottle openers conventionally slide over the rounded surface of a. glass lip under which a crown cap has been crimped. l

The cap 22 has a liner 26, as in the constructions previously described, and it has areas defined by score lines for displacing tabs of any desired size and arrangements, Vas previously described in connection with Figures 2-5.

Figure 6 shows a bottle 56 which has no threads.

The preferred constructions of the invention have been illustrated land descriebd, but changes and modilications can rbe made and some features can be used in different combinations without departing from the invention as dened in the claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A combined tamper-proof and replaceable assembly for a container that has a neck surrounding an outlet opening at one end of the container, a lip at the upper end of the neck having an outside surface that extends downwardly and then inwardly to the diameter of the neck Ibelow said lip, va closure comprising an inner cap with an imperforate top wa-ll that extensd across the top of the lip and closes the opening, and that extends'downwardly around the outside of and under the lip, the downwardly extending portion of the inner cap having tabs at its lower edge angularly spaced from one another, said tabs having their junctures with the rest of the inner cap 4 above the region where the lip of the container turns inward and being made of hard material whereby bending up of any of the tabs will break them before transmitting suiiicent force to remove said inner cap, weakened punchout areas in the top surface of the inner cap for breaking the seal provided by the innercap, said punch-out areas Kbeing of substantially less total areas than the top of the inner cap, an outer cap having aninside diameter greater than the outside diameter of the bottom portion of the inner cap and movable downwardly freely over the inner cap, and detachable means for holding the outer cap on the container.

2. The combined tamper-proof and replaceable closure assembly described in claim 1, and in which there is a liner in the inner cap extending across the opening of the container and held against the top of the lip by said inner cap, and another liner within the outer cap extending across the inner cap.

3. The combination with a container having a neck, a. mouth and a head forming the lip of the mouth, of an inner capclosing the mouth of the container, a circumferentiral edge portion of the cap of one-piece construction with the rest of the cap and extending around the side of the ylip and under the ilip and permanently securing the cap to the bottle, the inner cap having a weakened area adapted to be pushed downwardly and to bend along a line on which said area remains connected to the other parts of the inner cap, the inner cap being made of sheet metal and the opening formed `@by pushing outtthe weakened area having a sheared edge which facilitates pouring of liquid through said opening free from dribble, and an outer cap covering the inner cap and the'poun'ng opening in said inner cap, and releasable fastening means for holding the outer cap in assembled relation with the inner cap, and in which the outer cap is of the crown cap type and has a crimped edge that extends under theV portion of the inner cap that extends around the container lip,

'the outer extensions of the crimped outer cap being at a substantail radial distance from the inner cap so that the outer cap can be removed by a container opener without interference from the permanently attached inner cap.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNTTED STATES PATENTS Germany Oct. 18, 1951 

